Pair of Protomes Depicting the Forepart of a Griffin
625-575 BCE
Medium
Bronze with bone or ivory inlay
Dimensions
1: 20.3 × 7.6 × 7.6 cm (8 × 3 × 3 in.); 2: 21.6 × 8.3 × 7 cm (8 1/2 × 3 1/4 × 2 3/4 in.)
Classification
sculpture
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
129906
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The great holy sites of ancient Greece, such as the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and the Heraion of Samos, functioned as repositories for gifts brought by believers seeking divine favor. The most impressive of these offerings were large bronze cauldrons, which were set on a conical stand or tripod base and embellished with cast-bronze attachments like these two griffins. These beasts, facing outward, would have been fastened to the vessel by means of the rivets still present on their collars. Th...
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...